WWW-Wonderful World of Wikis
While Pete was off learning about the Historical Society's public document collection, others of us attended David Null and Terri Muraski's program "The World of Wikis." Terri presented an overview of wikis, what they are (a social software), what they can do and who's using them. She had lots of examples from Library's that are using wikis for various things, including subject pages.
David used the UW Madison Stem Cell Research Wiki as a specific example of a wiki in action. The stem cell research library group has put together a wiki to keep document the actual stem cell research and to collect reactions to stem cell research in Wisconsin. They are using PMwiki for this project. They have password protected the information so that only those involved in the group can access, add and change information in it.
David's list of pros and cons to using a wiki for this are:
Pros:
1) It's easy to use
2) It is a great way to keep track of web sites
3) It can link to almost everything on the web (word docs., pdf, databases, etc.)
4) It can be customized
Cons:
1) There are other ways that the information could be kept (e.g., MyWebSpace)
2) People don't always remember to update in both places if more than one is being used to keep track of the information
3) Can password protect the information (but questions whether this really needs to be done.)
4) Not good for graphics or images
Overall a very informative program with lots of great ideas for integration into library websites!
posted by Julie @ 11:36 AM
1 comments
1 Comments:
Terri Muraski's part of the Wiki presentation said that wikis were Time Berners-Lee's vision for the truly interactive Internet. Since "cooperative" is a defining word for the Millenials, wikis are popular with this generation.
Muraski had some handouts that she said would be available at the front desk. Included on the bibliography was a citation for the "Wisdom of Crowds" which espouses the idea that "everyone together is smarter than any one alone."
A helpful website mentioned is by Ward Cunningham's WikiWikiWeb (http://www.pbs.org/wnet/foolingwithwords/t_txtbaraka.html). Headings on the site include: NewUserPages
TipsForBeginners
OneMinuteWiki
TextFormattingRules
StartingPoints.
Muraski said that WikiPageTitlesAreMashedTogether to allow for easy linking via automatic means.
Muraski also mentioned some other things to investigate, if new to you:
- http://del.icio.us/: a different way to keep and share your favorite websites, music, books, and more in a place where you, your family, friends and colleagues can always find them. It is one example of how users are increasingly utilizing web-based storage solutions, instead of storing locally.
- Penn Tags: a social bookmarking community created by the librarians at the University of Pennsylvania in which tagging is utilized to help OPAC users connect with library content (see: http://acrlblog.org/2006/03/10/moving-tagging-into-the-opac/).
She closed her talk with the "Wiki Prayer":
Please, grant me the serenity to accept the pages I cannot edit, The courage to edit the pages I can, And the wisdom to know the difference.
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